Fyodor Dostoevsky

A poverty stricken young man, seeing his family making sacrifices for him, is faced with an opportunity to solve his financial problems with one simple but horrifying act: the murder of a pawnbroker. She is, he feels, just a parasite on society. But does the end justify the means?

One of the most important and influential Russian writers of the 19th Century, Fyodor Dostoevsky is admired worldwide for his great realist novels, exploring questions of morality, philosophy and the nature of existence. This compilation contains the BBC radio productions of his four most famous novels - as well as three lesser-known works and two bonus documentaries - collected together for the first time.

Written in 1864, this novel is the first and strangest of Dostoevsky's masterpieces - and the source of those that followed. Violating literary conventions in ways never before attempted, this classic tells of a mid-19th-century Russian official's breakaway from society and descent 'underground'.

Ed Stoppard stars as obsessive pianist Alexei in this modern-day take on Dostoevsky's classic The Gambler

When brilliant but penniless pianist Alexei is hired to tutor the 10-year-old daughter of Russian oligarch Mikhail, he is drawn into a world of chance, obsession and violence. Hopelessly infatuated with Mikhail's beautiful stepdaughter Polina, he vows to do anything to win her love: and so begins his involvement in a dangerous, high-stakes game...

Seduced by the lure of the roulette wheel, and embroiled in the complications and machinations of Polina and her family, Alexei's life takes a dark turn. The unexpected arrival of Mikhail's mother Anastasia from Russia offers hope of rescue from financial ruin: but an obsession with risk-taking threatens to destroy everything...

This lively reimagining, set in contemporary London, was written by Dolya Gavanski, who also plays Polina. Ed Stoppard (Home Fires) stars as Alexei, with Eleanor Bron (A Little Princess) as Anastasia and Matthew Marsh (Love, Lies and Records) as Mikhail.

Production credits
Adapted by Dolya Gavanski, from Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Gambler
Directed and produced by John Dryden
Original music composed by Sacha Puttnam
All music performed by Sacha Puttnam
Casting: Toby Whale
Script Editor: Mike Walker
Sound Design: Steve Bond
A Goldhawk Production for BBC Radio 4

Cast
Alexei - Ed Stoppard
Mikhail - Matthew Marsh
Polina - Dolya Gavanski
Vika - Isabella Blake Thomas
Astley - Graham Seed
Francois - Orlando Seale
Katie - Lucy May Barker
Inokenti - George Lasha
Masha - Irina Karatcheva
Mullighan - Jay Taylor
Office Worker - Alana Ramsey
Blake - Timothy Walker
Anastasia - Eleanor Bron
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 17-24 November 2013